Tag Archives: sdcc

The Lucifer pilot started strong with a lot of style and visual appeal, to the perfect song choice of No Rest For The Wicked by Cage the Elephant. Lucifer, it transpires, has left Hell for a more neutral–if hedonistic–life on Earth. We first meet him on the glittering streets of nighttime Los Angeles, speeding in his classic convertible on the way to his ultra posh bar named Lux.

Unfortunately the unique concept and interesting choice for the lead of TV show is hampered the fact that the character is surprisingly un-unique for Satan. His general personality type is very reminiscent of characters like House and Sherlock; a cheerful asshole who can look at you and tell you your whole life story by way of a miraculous talent. As expected, there’s many instances of his shocked targets gaping at him with the by now well-known “How did you do that!?!” facial expression. He’s offset by the somewhat predictable snarky female co-star who is supposed to make up for his BS by calling him on it at routine intervals.

It’s somewhat disappointing that they chose to take the great character concept from Neil Gaiman and Mike Carey, and then just reworked it into yet another cop procedural. I’d like to give it a few more episodes before coming to a final judgement, but unless it goes in a very different direction after the pilot it’s going to be highly disappointing.

Crime-of-the-week shows have their place, but due to their ubiquity most people tuning in to Lucifer probably have at least two or three cop procedurals they already watch. So the question becomes not, “Does this show look interesting?” but rather, “Is this show different enough from the other similarly themed shows I’ve already become invested in?” It’s kind of odd that a television show about Lucifer spurning his duties as the destroyer of human goodness to run a Los Angeles nightclub with a former sex tape star turned policewoman can’t readily answer that question with a quick “yes.” Should not the point of using a unique character like Lucifer be to make an equally unique show?

His partner Maze was a highlight though under-utilized in the pilot. I definitely look forward to seeing what they do with her. The angel Amenadiel is suitably grim and foreboding in his role of trying to convince Lucifer to return to Hell, but he could use a wing-fix. Like many productions that have used angels in their plots, the design is awkward and borderline silly.

Overall I’m not especially excited by this show but I’ll tune in to the first few episodes to see if it gets better.

Firefly Online gave us some tidbits at the annual San Diego Comic Con this year. Overall the presentation was a mixed bag containing both interesting news and some very disappointing reveals.

The entire original cast is returning to reprise their roles, and Wil Wheaton is voicing the male player character. The unfortunate news is that much of the original cast’s cut-scene dialog tried a little too hard to recapture the Whedonisms that made the original so charming. The execution comes off almost like a parody of the original Western-inspired dialog, aiming to cram in as much “Firefly speak” into a few lines as possible. It’s a bit cringe-worthy and hopefully the devs dial it down in future cut-scenes and NPC dialog.

The opening scenes were actually a bit hard to follow; the player character starts out as part of a crew who have some sort of pre-arranged rendezvous with the Firefly cast. The job goes sour, resulting in a weapons-drawn standoff with the old heroes. Simple enough, until some poorly executed and confusing flashbacks with Federation interrogators looking for River and Simon Tam start muddling things.

On the plus side, the devs seem to have some good ideas about balancing the need for nostalgia with moving the story forward. They stated clearly that the goal was to progress and make the lore grow rather than try to rehash what has already been established. Ideally they should have kept that in mind with the opening cinematic, but I won’t write off the entire game based on the first few cut-scenes.

The music was absolutely beautiful and captured the spirit of the show perfectly, and the audience was treated to a live performance. An entire album’s worth of music has already been written, though no release date was hinted at.

Character creation boasts several sliders for customization. We only got a very quick peek so there’s not a lot of details about how many options there are. There’s also a first mate customization screen and the player evidently collects crew members as the game progresses.

Supposedly the world experience will change dynamically for everyone based on the actions of player-characters, but no specifics were forthcoming.

The most unfortunate aspects of Firefly Online are the combat system and movement. Owing to the fact that this game was built from the ground up to revolve around smartphones and tablets, the combat is turn-based and extremely simplistic. The example we saw featured the dev select a target, run behind the target–who simply continued staring off in the wrong direction with no attempt to block or attack–and shoot him in the back. I’d like to be optimistic and assume that combat mechanics will grow in complexity as the player levels, but there was an ominous lack of anyone even hinting at dungeons or raids.

The movement is obviously first and foremost designed to be touch-screen friendly; tap where you want to run, a giant blue circle appears on the ground where you’re moving to, and the character lumbers towards it. Firefly Online lacks the fluidity of any major MMO I’ve ever played.

An audience member did ask about the gameplay being scaled down to accommodate mobile gaming but the issue was mostly sidestepped with very vague assurances.

Finally, the devs stated they regretted ever trying to give firm release dates in the past and said that no ETA for release was going to be given in the near future. There are no plans for paid early-access sales; rather a free beta with rolling invites will become available at some point in the future. Their goal is not to accept any money until they have a finished game to release.

I got a sneak peak at the pilot for Containment at Comic Con and it looks promising.

Containment, as the name suggests, is the story centered on attempts to contain a massive outbreak in the city of Atlanta. It’s unclear at first exactly what the nature of the disease is, and the pilot opens with a scene of lawless chaos and extreme violence several weeks after the beginning of the outbreak before pulling back and showing us the early days of the disease. It’s admittedly something of a cliché at this point, but like many clichés it continues to be used in outbreak stories because it works. The forshadowing serves to add tension as the characters slowly but inexorably get drawn into the nightmare the audience knows is coming.

The story veers into a less satisfying cliché when the feds and local law enforcement lock horns; too much time is wasted in several predictable scenes where they indulge in the usual posturing and sniping. The noble cop chafes at the invasion, the fed dramatically informs him that he’s not seeing the big picture, etc. These interactions drag an otherwise very enjoyable and interesting show down.

The titular containment is revealed towards the end of the pilot: the cordon sanitaire. The name itself evokes the imagery of third world countries besieged by diseases only marginally stemmed by international relief organizations. It is at this moment that the lines are drawn, and the previous hour was spent introducing the audience to the characters who are to be torn apart by the barrier. The images from the beginning of the show don’t bode well for the loved ones on the wrong side of the cordon.

The cast is refreshingly diverse as befits a show set in Atlanta, and aside from the trite interactions between the feds and local law, most of them have plenty of chemistry.

Overall Containment is a solid effort and I look forward to seeing what direction the show takes. The biggest mystery is how the devastation teased in the opening scene can be sustained for the duration of an entire show; the body count looked fairly high and the disease has to be contained to a large degree lest the show outgrow its own name.

San Diego Comic Con looms ahead, and everywhere the nerds are aflutter; there’s last minute travel arrangements to make, luggage to be hauled from the dark recesses of the garage or attic (not that anyone will bother to pack until the night before they leave, but damn, they’ll feel so productive every time they walk past those suitcases), all punctuated by nail-biting sessions on the Programming page, hitting refresh again and again in the vain hope that the schedule will be released a few days early. Heady images of themed after parties, geek band gigs, or simply the chance to meet Twitter/Tumblr friends for a drink in the hotel bar (and considering what you’re paying for a hotel room during Comic Con, don’t you deserve a good stiff drink?) provide the finishing touch on the fantasy that gets us through the last few weeks of work and general drudgery before we’re let out to play.

But not all is well in the Land of Geek. After almost every major convention, women come forward to talk about the harassment they faced during what should have been a fun vacation from the real world. That is, indeed, why Comic Con and its peers exist: To celebrate the refuges we take from the daily grind, and perhaps inspire us to figure out how to make our reality a tiny bit closer to the alternate realities we so love. Whether SDCC, NYCC, Dragon*Con, E3, Heroes Con, or all of the above are your stomping grounds, I ask you to stop and take a few minutes to read about how you can make these gatherings a safer place for everyone who attends.

The comments directed at women who step forward tend to be rife with opinions about how people think she should have handled the situation. Some commenters will at least limit their criticisms to what they think the convention staff should have done, but there’s a glaring omission from all these responses.

What I don’t see very often are people making suggestions for what we, the convention goers, should do to tackle the issue of sexual harassment. Women are often taken to task for not speaking up about harassment right away, but here’s the thing: On the convention floor, there are usually dozens of immediate witnesses. If something happens, and none of the people who witness it even acknowledge they’ve noticed anything, will the woman being harassed feel like she’s going to get much help from from con staff? If the people who watched it happen act like they don’t care, how can she have any faith that she’ll be believed in a he said, she said scenario minutes or even hours after the fact?

We need to be proactive. If you notice a cosplayer surrounded by a group of guys, take five seconds from your day to slow your pace and listen for anything inappropriate as you pass by. If you overhear something you know is wrong, stop and say something. If you notice a Slave Leia posing for a picture with a guy who’s hand is starting to drift somewhere it has no business being, say something. It’s a few seconds out of your day, but the anger and hurt the woman can feel from harassment can dog her for weeks, for months, or even far longer.

You don’t have to give a dissertation on feminism, or body autonomy, or even the basic manners the harasser should have received growing up. You don’t have to be clever or powerful or any other adjective you think stands in your way of doing the right thing. Like street harassment, con harassment thrives because the men doing it know that people just don’t like to get involved in a potentially ugly scene.The strongest weapon we can wield against them is not a clever put down, but simply to let them know that we are paying attention, and that we will speak up about what we see. You get embarrassed easily when speaking up in a confrontational situation? Sometimes you stutter or mumble a bit? That’s ok! Because the goal is not “winning” an argument of any type against the person doing the harassing. The goal is to let him know he’s being watched, and to offer support to the girl being harassed.

Look at his badge and make a point of using his name; nothing tends to take harassers down a notch like realizing that all that stands between their poor choices at the con and their “real life” is a quick Google search.

While on the subject, let the girl know you’d be happy to act as a witness if she wants to report harassment to the con staff. If the person who harassed her really got to her, and she looks upset, ask if she has any friends she can call, and offer to stay with her until they arrive. Get other people involved; if you’re meeting friends at the con, casually mention that you’re planning on keeping an eye and ear out for harassment.

Though sexual harassment is by far the most troubling, there are other types of harassment to watch out for. No one of any gender, race, or body type deserves to be made fun of for deciding to cosplay. Remember to speak up when you witness something. Not only will you be helping someone out of a bad situation, you will also be inspiring the passersby to stand up when they see something wrong.

If you see someone who looks a little (or a lot) self conscious, give them a compliment. Yes, even if the guy you follow on Twitter did that costume so much better, and you’re the type of person who just hates it when people put together costumes from stuff they got from the thrift store. There will always be assholes ready to tear someone down; kind people willing to build others up are rare.